Lighting construction



June 2l, 1938. I P D', PH|LL|P$ 2,121,260

LIGHTING coNsTRUcTIN Filed Jan. 30. 193s muil uw Patented June 21, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LIGHTING CONSTRUCTION `Application January 30, 1936, Serial No. 61,445

1 claim.

My invention relates to a lighting construction.

In my prior patent, No. 1,834,318,`dated December 1, 1931, is shown a construction in which a reflector carrying a lamp socket can be connected and disconnected with respect to a wiring base by vmeans of a bayonet joint connection, In this construction, the connecting and disconnecting movement requires that the Wiring base be forced inwardly against a substantial spring pressure to release it from latching engagement. Under some conditions,it is somewhat difficult to eiect this in ward movement of the wiring base against spring pressure, particularly in the pendant type of i'lxture in which the hood carrying the wiring `base may be supported by a chain. This makes a nonrigid support for the wiring base, making it necessary for anyone disconnecting the xture to hold the upper element, including the hood and wiring base, with one hand while at the same time holding the reector carrying the socket with the other hand and pressing it upwardly to compress the wiring base against its spring.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improvement in this type of fixture in which 25 a latch member is provided to lock the bayonet joint in connected position, which latch, when released, will enable the parts to be disconnected by simply rotating the reflector carrying its socket with respect to the hood carrying its wiring base.

A further object of my invention is to provide such a latch which may be easily released by the hand holding the hood.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and claim.

In the drawing, in which an embodiment of my invention is shown,

Figure 1 is an axial section;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the hood and latch, parts being broken away;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the neck of the reflector with the bayonet joint member;

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the hood with a part broken away to show a bayonet joint lug; and

Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the wiring base.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the lighting construction s hown comprises a hood I Which may be supported in any suitable manner as by a stem or chains, a wiring base 2 in, and carried by, said hood having contacts 3 and 4 thereon for engaging corresponding contacts 5 and 6 on the lamp socket 'I and having a bayonet joint connection with the hood, a reflector member having an upper neck portion 8 and having a bayonet joint member 9 for connection with a bayonet joint formation on the hood, the lamp socket 1 mounted on and carried by the reflector having the contacts 5 and Ii for engaging the contacts 3 and 4 on the wiring base, and latching means for holding the reector against rotation when in connected position with respect to the hood, said latching means comprising a spring-pressed plunger I0 having a laterally extending arm II engageable by the hand holding the hood for re leasing the plunger.

The bayonet joint connection between the wiring base 2 and hood I may be substantially as shown in my Patent No. 1,834,318, the hood being provided with a number of inwardly extending lugs I2 and the insulating wiring base being provided with a plurality of L-shaped recesses I3 in its sides for cooperation with the lugs I2 on the hood. A coil compression spring I4 is provided, acting between the hood and wiring base, to hold the wiring base against rotation when in connected position. When in connected position, the lugs I2 on the hood lie in the pockets I5 in the L-shaped recess so that the wiring base must be forced upwardly before it can be rotated for releasing it from the hood.

The bayonet joint connection between the neck of the reflector and the hood may also be substantially as shown in my previous Patent No. 1,834,318 comprising a plurality of lugs I6 extending inwardly from the skirt of the hood and the sheet metal connector member 9 secured to the flange I'I of the reflector having a plurality of upwardly bent portions, three of which are provided with outwardly extending flange portions I8 for engagement with the inwardly extending lugs I6 on the hood. Each of these outwardly extending flanges, as shown in Fig. 4, is provided with a sloping portion I9 which enables the flange to ride easily over the corresponding lug I6 on the hood, exerting a cam action whereby the wiring base 2 may be easily forced inwardly against its spring I4 in making the connection. Each flange is also provided with an offset raised portion so that when the reflector has been rotated to bring this raised portion above an inwardly extending lug I6 on the hood, the spring I4 will press the wiring base, and consequently the reflector member, downwardly. There is a slightly inclined shoulder portion 2I (Fig. 4) between the inclined cam portion I9 and the raised portion 2i! of the flange, which inclined shoulder portion tends to resist disconnecting movement of the reflector. In my previous patent, this shoulder was made abrupt so that it could not ride over the inwardly projecting lug in the disconnecting operation, thus necessitating forcibly pressing the reflector upwardly before rotating the reflector to disconnect it. As pointed out above, however, this had disadvantages, particularly in the pendant type of fixture. In order to make the disconnection easy and still insure against accidental disconnection, I have provided the spring pressed plunger I Which acts as a latch when the reflector is in connected position by snapping 01T from the raised portion 2|] of the flange onto one of the three shoulders-22 provided on an adjacent upwardly extending portion 23 of the connector member 9. This latch will :prevent any accidental rotation of4 the reflector member with respect 'to the hood. However, this latch .member can be easily lifted against the slight tension ofthe latch spring 2li and thereafter the reflector can be disconnected simply by giving it a slight rotation, the inclination of the shoulder portion 2I Vbeing so slight that the reflector can be rotated with respect to the hood Without pressing upwardly on the reflector, the inclined shoulder acting as a cam to raise the reflector slightly.v

As shown in Fig. 5, the Vuppersurface of each of the lugs I6 may -be rounded off for cooperation with the flange' portions I8 so that these flange portions can ride over the-lugs I6 easily, even if abrupt shoulders` are providedin the flanges as disclosed in my -Patent No. 1,834,318 instead of the inclined shoulders 2l shown in this` application.

As shown in Fig. 6, the Wiring base is provided with suitable wiring terminals y25 and 26, the wiring terminal `Z'Ilbeing electrically connected with the spring contact ngers, and the other wiring terminal .2G ybeing electrically connected with the spring contact lingers 4.

In connecting the reflector with respect to the hood, the reflector is turnedso that the flanges I8 will be out of alignment with the lugs I6 on the hood and the reflectorA is then pushed up to bring the entering edges of the.' flanges above the inwardly extending lugs I6 on .the hood. In this` upward movement of the. reflec- `2l! of the flanges to rest on the lugs.

tor, the plunger I0 is pushed upwardly by the engagement of one of the outwardly extending flange portions I8 with the head of the plunger. The reflector is then given a turning movement, the flange portions I8 riding along above the lugs on the hood, forcing the Wiring base 2 inwardly by ca m action. The reflector is turned until the little shoulders 2I on the flange are past the lugs' I6, allowing the raised portions When turned to this position, one of the shoulder portions`22 is brought underneath the head of the plunger and the plunger snaps off from the laterally extending flange 20 onto the shoulder 22, thus holding the reflector against rotation.

Further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is desired, therefore, that the invention be limited only by the prior art and thescope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A lighting construction comprising a hood, a Wiring base in and carried by said hood having contacts thereon, a reflector member, a lamp socket carried thereby having contacts for engaging the contacts on the wiring base, bayonet joint means whereby the reflector carrying the socket may be connected and disconnected with respect to the hood and wiring base by rotation about the axis of the reector, spring means acting on the Wiring base to hold its contacts in engagement with the contacts on the lamp socket, said bayonet joint connection having a cam engagement with the hood which in cooperation with the spring causes an in-and-out movement of the Wiring base both on the connecting and disconnecting movement, and spring latching ,means for positively holding the bayonet joint in connected position accessible for releasing operation from the exterior of the hood, said hood having a guideway in its side wall extending longitudinally-of the axis of the hood, said latching means comprising a` plunger slidably mounted in said guideway, said plunger being provided with a lateral `projection adjacent the upper end of the hood whereby the plunger may be held in raised position by the hand gripping the hood and disconnecting the reflector from the hood.

PAUL D. PHILLIPS. 

